'''Ralph Bakshi''' ([[October 29]], [[1938]]) directed [[Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings|''The Lord of the Rings'' animated film]] in [[1978]]. Despite the fact that the movie was a financial success, United Artists did not let him finish the story.

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'''Ralph Bakshi''' ([[29 October|October 29]], [[1938]]) directed [[The Lord of the Rings (1978 film)|''The Lord of the Rings'' animated film]] in [[1978]]. Despite the fact that the movie was a financial success, United Artists did not let him finish the story.

"I never would have started it. I was doing it to save it for Tolkien, because I loved the Rings very much. I had just finished Wizards. Wizards was my homage to Tolkien in the American idiom. I had read Tolkien, understood Tolkien, and wanted to do a sort of fantasy for American kids, and that was Wizards and I love it very much. Of course it's American as opposed to Tolkien. But when I heard that United Artists was going to collapse the three books into one picture and there was a screenplay written by (John) Boorman, I thought it best that I go down and tell them they're out of their minds. "

"I think it's impossible to do. It's impossible to get the brilliance of what he wrote about -- just the medium, the book, the novel gives you other areas of imagination (that) film can't allow. Film has to describe and show. With the brilliance of his words and his scenes, you imagine whatever you want. I'm sure various people imagine different things."

"I just gave it the best shot I could, and if I did anything, I think I established some of the character design to look the way Tolkien might have liked them. His daughter certainly loved the way I designed the film. But as far as everything in the book, I can't do it, and this next guy's not going to do it."